The 56th Tampere Festival of Light will light up the city from October 29th

The traditional Festival of Light will shine light into the darkest time of the year in Tampere. The familiar light fixtures from earlier Festivals of Light will be joined by new and surprising light work, starting from October 29th 2021 for the 56th Tampere Festival of Light. The lights will illuminate the city centre until March 13th 2022. The Festival of Light’s opening ceremony will take place on October 29th at 7 pm in Koskipuisto Park.

The Tampere Festival of Light presents new decorations on Hämeenkatu street and, stretching between Central Square and Hämeenpuisto Boulevard, the new Light Gallery Exhibition.

The lamp posts over Hämeenkatu street have been fitted with 36 light curtains that, combined with the illuminations of Tammerkoski rapids, form a new axis of light in Tampere city centre. The illuminations on Hämeenkatu street stretch from Rautatienkatu street to Hämeenpuisto Boulevard. Instead of a light curtain, Hämeensilta bridge has just regular lighting.

Project Development Manager for the City of Tampere Markus Joonas explains that the construction of the tram on Hämeenkatu allowed the whole lighting of Tampere’s main street to be renewed. In addition to a functional street space, the design took into account the lighting of the dark season and its diversity.

– The two-metre tall and 11-metre wide light curtains are surfaces consisting of light points that can be programmed to display different lighting motifs, such as moving patterns, videos and light art. The illuminations are alive with the city’s rhythm and can be modified according to different themes, subjects and seasons. The illuminations on Hämeenkatu allow for various kinds of light art during the Festival of Light, says Markus Joonas.

The lighting on Hämeenkatu may be varied according to different events, phenomena or theme days. As this year’s illuminations for the Festival of Light are alive, transforming with the seasons, the lighting can create different atmospheres, such as the golden leaves of autumn, the days before Christmas or the freezing days of winter. For instance Finnish Independence Day and New Year’s Eve are going to have surprises in the form of light.

The Light Gallery exhibition projects light art on building facades

The second attraction of the Festival of Light will be the Light Gallery, located between Central Square and Hämeenpuisto Boulevard. Fifteen light artworks will be brought to the urban space and projected on building facades. Most of the artwork has been selected from the collections of Tampere Art Museum and the City of Tampere.

The Light Gallery exhibition “Citizens” depicts city people of different ages living their everyday lives. A few modern artists have been included in designing the works. The Light Gallery celebrates 90 years of history of Tampere Art Museum.

The exhibitions can be viewed in Tampere city centre from October 29th 2021. Guided tours of the exhibition will be available.

Decorative lighting and familiar illuminations

In addition to Hämeenkatu, nearly all of the surroundings of Central Square are going to be illuminated. There will be lights on the lamp posts of Frenckell square on Aleksis Kiven katu and a light curtain on the facade of the central office building. Kuninkaankatu street is going to have magnificent light chandeliers. Passers-by will be delighted to watch the atmospheric light spheres all the way to the Tallipiha – Stable Yards area. The spheres can also be seen in Näsinpuisto park around Milavida Museum. Konsulinsaari island will be illuminated with the familiar horse light figures. Culture House Laikku will be surrounded by light spheres and other fixtures.

The ice lantern, seen in previous years next to Stockmann department store, is going to return to its place. The lights of the lantern use open data to display the current weather. Orange means sunny weather, deep blue means rain and blue and white means cloudless blue skies. Sleety rain makes the lantern red and purple. When it snows, the lantern shows snowflakes falling. If you push the button in the lantern, it will tell whether you support Ilves or Tappara football teams or if it thinks you are unaffiliated.

The trees on Tuomiokirkonkatu street between Kyttälänkatu and Hämeenkatu will be dressed in lights. The space between Hämeenkatu and Verkatehtaankatu streets will be decorated by chains of light. The Walk of Fame on Åkerlundinkatu street stands out in the cityscape due to special lighting that changes and highlights the stars on the street. The stars are illuminated with spotlights and the significance of the entire street is highlighted with coloured lights.

The familiar hedgehog and oak leaf figures are once again lighted in Tammelantori market this year. Yliopistonkatu street will be lined with light spheres.

The Festival of Light’s opening ceremony will take place on October 29th at 7–7.30 pm

The Festival of Light’s opening ceremony will take place on Friday October 29th at 7–7.30 pm in Koskipuisto park. The Festival of Light will be opened by Anna-Kaisa Ikonen, the Mayor of Tampere. Lauri Mikkola and Pia Pilz will perform music. The event will be hosted by Riku Suokas and Johanna Tohni. The event will culminate in the water and light show Dancing Waters, in which illuminated fountains will dance to music in Tammerkoski rapids. The show will incorporate pyrotechnics. The best place for viewing the show is from the eastern side of Tammerkoski rapids in Koskipuisto park.

Dancing waters will be presented in Tammerkoski every night at 7, 8 and 9 pm until November 7th. The performance will have the same content but different music each day. The theme for the year is music from musicals. The performance will take approximately 10 minutes.

The light figures of the Tampere Festival of Light will be lit at dusk, starting on October 29th, and will be turned off on weekdays at 11 pm and on weekends at 5 am.

Further information

Illuminations:
Markus Joonas, Project Development Manager
tel. +358 50 345 0705
email markus.joonas (at) tampere.fi

Opening ceremony:
Saara Saarteinen, Event Manager
tel. +358 40 801 6222
email saara.saarteinen (at) tampere.fi